DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709290072

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   45 lines

BIG BAND'S NOSTALGIA SOUNDS SWEET

It was Swing 'n' Sway - with an emphasis on sway - Sunday at Willett Hall.

For 2 1/2 hours, a mostly older crowd reminisced to the big band-era sounds of Sammy Kaye. The orchestra is conducted by Roger Thorpe, who played trumpet with the original band.

Drummer Steve Leonelli was also a member of the original group, as was sax man Lennie Hartsell, still going strong at 81.

The show was one of the more memorable of the big band presentations making the rounds these days, thanks in large part to the affable Thorpe.

Most of the big bands performing these days, for reasons of economy, do not feature vocalists, but the Kaye orchestra has two: Ray Lemere, a good singer with a nice, quivery voice, and Karina Calabro, who has a beautiful voice.

While Kaye seldom used female vocalists, he would have appreciated Calabro, who performed the operatic aria in ``Pretty Woman,'' and has appeared in several other films.

She, Lemere and Thorpe offered an authentic version of the Three Kaydettes, whose harmonies had a lot to do with the band's success.

Almost as entertaining as the music were Thorpe's reminiscences of those good old days - fascinating stories of the singers and instrumentalists who were headliners during the big bands' heyday.

One of the stories concerned the Sammy Kaye and Guy Lombardo feud - each accusing the other of borrowing material. At one point, Thorpe mentioned Lombardo's name, and many of the band members pretended to walk off.

Nevertheless, they paid tribute to Lombardo with his version of ``Third Man Theme.'' And ``In the Mood'' was a tribute to Kaye's golfing buddy, Glenn Miller.

But the highlights were the Sammy Kaye songs, gems ranging from the lovely ``Autumn Leaves'' to the raucous ``Bill Bailey,'' and such saucy hits as ``Skirts,'' ``I'm a Big Girl Now,'' and ``Daddy.''

The latter was the orchestra's biggest success. Close on its heels was ``The Old Lamplighter.''

Some of the hits were off-key as Thorpe reprised Kaye's famous ``So You Want to Lead a Band'' feature - folks from the audience waving the baton.

From the opening strains of the theme, ``Kaye's Melody,'' to the closing notes of the same, the Kaye guys and gal offer one of the best big band bashes.

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